Sand, Sun, and A Fur Blanket
by Karina Kineshi
Summary: Ever read the ubiquitous RK blanket scenarios before?  Always a freezing cabin with only a small cloth to keep warm.  But now, Sanosuke and Megumi find themselves in a desert... will they survive the elements, and each other?  Chapter two!
1. One

Disclaimers: Nope. Not yet. 

Welcome to the most original blanket scenario! You aren't a hardcore coupling fanatic until you've written one of these babies. This'll probably be three (short) chapters long. 

Do review. Make your Sanosuke/Megumi preference known to the world. *wink*

And now for something completely different... enjoy! 

*********

**Sand, Sun, and A Fur Blanket - One**_  
_By: Karina Kineshi (coronaflare@mail.com)

"What the _hell_..."

Sanosuke shook his head in disbelief, anger, and frustration all mixed up at once. He ran his fingers through his hair to wipe off the beading sweat on the back of his neck. The glare I was shooting at him did nothing to alleviate the prickly heat, even though it was cold as ice. "Err... we got lost?"

_We... got... lost?! _

I blinked once, then blinked again at the sheer absurdity of the situation. I was fighting back the urge to choke Sanosuke. I think he knew that I was this close to killing him, he was oddly subdued. The strongest fighter in Tokyo leveled by a murderous glare. I seethed, "Are there even deserts in Japan?"

The man beside me stooped over, scooped some up some sand and let it slide in between in his fingers. "We're in a desert," he mumbled. I don't think he believed it either. 

"I know this!" I roared. Sanosuke shrank back in fear. No one who dared cross me lived to tell about the tale. I cursed Hippocrates for coming up with that damnable oath. It stated that I as a doctor could do no harm. Not even when it was justified, like right _now_. Sanosuke had better be thanking that man for that promise; he was a dead man without it. "The sand makes it _painfully_ obvious that we are in a desert!"

"It's not like I did this on purpose, fox!"

"You _had_ to have! This _has_ to be your fault in some way..." With trembling hands, as if the situation just now presented itself, I pulled down the collar of my kimono. I didn't know it could get so _hot_ in a desert. Underneath my kimono and make-up, I felt like I was broiling.

"The carriage... it was him..."

I nodded and sank down to the sand, not really caring that it would ruin my expensive clothing. It's not like I'd need it now anyways. "What, did you forget to tip him?"

"Um... I forgot to... pay him?"

I sighed. This was not news to me. "If you needed money, why couldn't you just ask me for it?"

Sanosuke plopped on the sand beside me while his shoulders shrugged in defeat. I was too tired, too overwhelmed, to push him away. Plus, the added bonus of him being taller than me shaded my face from the scorching heat. I was silently thankful for that. "If I asked you for money, you would have thought I couldn't take care of it myself," he stated quietly. "I wanted to do this right."

I felt pretty bad at that point. You could tell that he actually tried, and that gave him a sort of bumbling but endearing quality. I suddenly remembered why I said yes to him in the first place. "Sanosuke, you ruined our first date."

"Hey," he pointed a finger at me, "you were the one who owes me a date, remember?"

"Yeah..." My head rocked back and forth sideways. "But at least when I ruined our date, it was because of circumstances beyond my control."

"I guess."

This conversation was going nowhere fast. I cursed myself for wearing such nice clothes. I thought that we'd be going on a nice little dinner complete with carriage ride, just as Sanosuke promised. I grinned in victory when I saw the look on his face earlier today. It was the slightly opened mouth that told me I looked great. 

I _knew_ I looked great.

Hey, forgive me for being vain. It's just that I never spend any time on how I look, so when I _want_ to spend time, it's going to be the best yet. The bad thing was that I didn't have any nice looking kimonos except the magenta one that Sanosuke had already seen. I thought that maybe that thing was bad luck, so I went out and got a new one two days later. This one was a deep red with silver embroidery. The sleeves were typical for a woman of my unmarried status, large and almost trailing on the ground. It matched the color on my lips perfectly. Add to that an assortment of bracelets and a single dazzling necklace...

I jingled when I walked.

After about a half an hour of debating with Kaoru, she tied the _obi_ behind me into a simple Nagoya style. I protested that I wasn't married, so having the long sleeves and the _obi_ like that would be contradictory. She smiled sheepishly and said that she didn't know how to do it any other way. I asked her how she got her stupid _obi_ tied then. She said that Genzai-sensei did it for her.

I was ashamed that I, a woman, had to go to a man to tie an obi. I kept telling myself that it wasn't my fault I couldn't work behind my back, I knew how to do it perfectly well. Just not on myself. Genzai-sensei tied it into a blooming rose, faster than I've ever tied that particular knot. It looked just as good too.

"Fat load of good that does now..." I mumbled.

Sanosuke looked around the landscape. I wanted to tell him not to bother; I didn't see anything in sight. My hair was slowly falling out of its pinned arrangement because of the sun beating down on my head. I thought it was only a matter of time before my hair would burst into flame. "Do you see any stones anywhere?" he asked suddenly.

"Stones?" I echoed. What did the moron want with _stones_? I answered him with a sarcastic look and a shake of my head. "If you really want stones, you can use your spit and bind the sand particles together."

It was his turn to look confused. I saw a bead of sweat trail down his forehead and into his left eye. He flicked it away with a finger and stared at the sun. I bet he was wishing that he had worn his bandana. Me, being the perfectionist I am, insisted he remove it if he was to be seen in public with me.

He reached into one pocket of his dyed red gi and deftly took out a long strip of cloth I recognized all too well. Sanosuke tied it around his head and crossed his legs. "I was looking for stones because moss is supposed to grow on the north side of them."

"Um, Sano? First of all, we're in a desert. Moss can't grow in this heat, even if there were stones to grow it on. And second... we don't even know where we _are_. We can't go traipsing about the desert if we don't even—"

"I get the message," he sighed. "I really screwed this one up, but at least I've got something that make this all better..."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. It had to be nothing short of an inflatable house complete with bathhouse to make this all better. By the look of excitement on his face, I was starting to wonder if it _was_. "What is it?"

"Don't you think it's funny how we can't remember anything before this?"

"Yes, but—"

"— and that the last thing both of us remember is that damned carriage?"

I nodded, trying to understand what he was getting at.

"Well..." he continued. "When we woke up, I found something."

"What?" My curiosity was killing me inside. "What _is_ it?"

With a dazzling smile, he procured something from his back that made me jump back in surprise. It looked like a giant, furry animal. He must have noticed the fear and dropped it into his lap while holding his hands up. "It ain't an animal, Megumi."

"Then what the hell is it?" I tried to make sense of the object in his lap. Brown, furry... but oddly flat. It looked like it was _folded_. A foldable animal?

I was losing my mind; it was definitely the heat. Imagine my face when Sanosuke stood up and threw it open. It inflated to almost ten times its size and blotted out the sky. I immediately saw that it was some kind of...

"A blanket!" he announced triumphantly. "I don't know where it came from, but when I woke up, it was right here beside me!" From how he said it, he found a puzzling secret of existence. 

I felt like I was losing my control. It was made worse when the gust from the blanket trailed over the sand and blew it into my hair and face. I was too hot to care. "What good is a blanket in a place like this? A giant, furry blanket?"

"It's an animal skin."

I threw my hands up. "Oh, even better!" Feeling angrier now, and slightly exasperated, I lurched to my feet menacingly. "Honestly Sagara Sanosuke, I thought you had a little bit more sense in you. We're probably going to die in this God-forsaken place and all you can be excited about is some stupid blanket!"

Sanosuke dropped it to the ground and pointed an accusing finger at me. He was beginning to look angry. "Can't you give me a _break_? You know, I worked my gangster _ass_ off to get enough money to do this for you!"

"Yeah, if you count gambling as working your gangster... butt off!"

"You get money any way you can! I'm sorry we were _all_ not given the chance to become respectable doctors like _you_!"

Ouch. That was below the belt. I held up my hands to placate him but he didn't show any signs of letting up. I was angry, yes, but more at myself than him. I couldn't believe the circumstances, and the nearest available outlet was usually him. This time was different; he was yelling _back_. "Sano—"

"We all didn't get _your_ opportunities in life..."

"I—"

"We all didn't have as great a past as you did—"

_What?! _

"Now just wait here Sanosuke! I'll have you know that my past is just as shady as yours!" I fumed. "I've had it ten times worse than you _ever_ will..." I was treading on dangerous ground, but I kept plodding along as my nature was. His eyes glinted treacherously in the sun. "Don't you _dare_ talk to me about my past, I won't stand for it one minute, do you understand?!"

We stood in silence for the next few moments, glaring at each other as hotly as the sun was beating down on our heads. The sun's heat was fueling my anger. My impassioned outcry made the pins in my hair come completely undone, and a few strands hung over my face, trembling with rage. It was times like this I was reminded of how much I _hated_ the man.

"I hate you, Sagara Sanosuke!"

The moment those words flew out of my mouth, I knew it was the biggest mistake of my life. I slapped a hand over my lips and stared in shock at his reaction. He looked just as surprised as I was. Before storming around and grabbing the blanket with both hands, I caught a profound look of sadness. "Well, I hate you too." He turned around and started to move from me. "By the way, I've heard that because there's no vegetation, the desert is scorching hot during the day... and freezing cold at night."

Then he walked away.

Was it pride? Was it the disbelief? Maybe it was a mixture of both that kept me rooted to my spot on the sand. I didn't want to move, but I wanted to go after him. I didn't want to admit he was right but I also wanted to admit my wrong. It was pride; it couldn't be anything else. I opened my mouth to apologize. "Fine then!" I shouted back. "I don't need your lousy pity!"

_That's not the way an apology is supposed to go Megumi! _

_ I don't care! _

I whirled around and started walking the opposite direction from wherever it was Sanosuke was going. I shoved the damnable pins into my sleeves, letting my hair fly freely. It was getting hot and my hair was starting to stick to the back of my neck. Damn damn damn! Damn him! Damn myself! Damn...

Damn circumstance.

What kind of sick freak would leave us in the middle of a desert? Didn't that carriage man know what a human life was _worth_? And how come I couldn't remember anything? _Nothing_?

What was wrong with me?

I was pushing away the only person that could help me now. The only person I'd want to die with if I _were_ to die. I felt like the other part of my _soul_ was being torn away from me.

Okay, maybe that's the heat talking. It sounds ridiculous, but... something told me I had to be the one to make amends this time. It was always him running to me, why couldn't I be the one to give in for once? After all, I could just say that it _was_ the heat talking. My feet already felt like they were chafing and the more I walked, the more painful it got with each step. If I had known that my first date would turn out to be a death march, I would have put on more comfortable shoes.

I had to apologize. With a newfound resolve and an excuse to go along with it, I slowly turned around. I saw that I had walked a good hundred feet and my footsteps receded into a mirage wasteland.

I had the second biggest shock of my life. He wasn't there.

_What? He can't have disappeared on me that quickly! No!! _

My God, I'm going to die in this desert. I don't want to die just yet; I've got work to do! There are people I still have to say goodbye to, children to have, a husband to marry... but not necessarily in that order. The only person I'd even _dream_ of marrying was out of sight forever.

This day certainly ranked as one of the worst. 

A deep voice startled me from my lunatic ravings inside my mind, therefore succeeding in giving me the biggest shock of my life. "Miss me, fox?"

_S-S-S... _

"I already know, don't talk."

He hadn't disappeared. Sanosuke was here, right beside me! He must have been standing beside me the entire time... but that's not possible. I swear that I didn't see anything when I turned around, but how...

An odd look flickered across his face. "I didn't mean for you to take that seriously."

"Take what seriously?" I asked.

The man was still carrying that blanket, hunched over it like it was his duty to protect it. He grabbed my arm and skidded me to a halt. My feet hurt when the _zori_ dug into the sand. "I don't think it's good for us to be walking in this heat."

Talk about stating the obvious.

He continued while unwrapping that blanket. "I think I've got an idea, but I need you to do me a favor." I don't think I got settled over the shock that he had forgiven me (or maybe it was the other way around). "You have to promise me something."

"What?"

"Well, two things, actually."

I rubbed the back of my neck and tried a faint attempt at humor. "Now you're just pushing your luck." If it weren't so _real_, I'd be finding this situation grimly hilarious. You hear stories like this all the time and you laugh, but if you yourself were stuck in the same circumstance, well...

He looked at me for the longest time and scrunched his eyebrows together. "First, no matter what I do, the reason I do it is to get out of here. So don't get mad at me, okay?"

I nodded. That didn't seem too hard. "Our top priority is survival. Do whatever you need to do." What could he possibly do that would make me mad? "Unless you're going to argue with me again, I don't think that will be a problem—"

"_Everything_ I do. Say it."

"Everything you do," I repeated. Sanosuke looked like he still didn't believe me, as if he were waiting for another outburst like earlier. He actually looked sort of scared. You know, that look where you want to make it seem like you don't need reassurance, but it's the most important thing to you. I see it in the eyes of my patients all the time. "I won't get mad at you again. I'm sorry for before."

He shrugged. "It's the heat talking."

"Exactly."

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to... well, y'know." Sanosuke smiled. I never really appreciated the way his mouth can twist into so many different ways. It was like each smile was unique. He has a very expressive face, just like a little boy.

I lifted my mass of hair from the back of my neck and cringed when I felt stands sticking. Thankfully, a hot draft of air swept across the arid sand and came into contact with the cool sweat. I was given temporary relief. This was bad, no, horrendously bad. I could feel myself drying out with each minute I spent in the sun. With no water... and no food... and a giant furry blanket in the middle of a desert, I came to one conclusion.

We're doomed.

Sanosuke started to leave my side. I followed, but he stopped me with a wave of his hand. "Stop right there. Don't come any closer," he ordered. He nonchalantly walked to the side of a giant sand dune that we _happened_ to be beside. How \did we get _here_? I shrugged. Winds can pick up dunes and move them in a matter of minutes, but is that how it got here? Was I really losing my mind? The top of the giant hill formed a sharp crest, like a sand ocean with waves breaking.

He looked up into the sky, shielding his eyes with the back of his hand. The other one pointed directly at the ground. I realized that I was holding the blanket. He must have shoved it into my hands. That thing was God awful heavy...

After a moment, he walked counterclockwise around the dune and stopped, the whole time looking up at the sun. 

I instantly realized what he was doing: trying to find us shade. I had a complete renewal of faith in him. My heart sank when it also struck me that it was midday; shade wouldn't be coming for a few hours. He pointed at the ground again and made a shadow with his finger.

"Time to make do on that promise, fox."

I didn't get a chance to answer. Over the thunderous din of a giant sand tidal wave crashing towards me, I heard a faint cry of "Futae-no-Kiwami". Once that fact registered in my mind, the wave of sand roared at me to get out of the way. Oddly enough, I found that I couldn't. That blanket was too heavy for me to drag, but too valuable to lose. If what Sanosuke said were true, this furball would be the only way we'd stay alive at night.

"Sano!" I cried.

Almost as quickly as it started, the sand beast fizzled out and fell to the ground harmlessly, not ten feet from where I was standing. It sounded like rain on an April afternoon, the small drop and shower kind of rain. The bulk of it plummeted, but a respectable minority was still in the air.

Flying sand. It got everywhere, my hair, my face, in between my _ obi_ and my _kimono_...

I came to the conclusion that sand was one of the most despicable things ever created.

I yanked the blanket out from its own thin blanket of sand and coughed once. There was a small hill where there used to be _no_ hill. I could see Sanosuke, standing triumphantly with his hands to his sides, grinning at the ground. Even though every bone in my body wanted to run to his side and slap him, I remembered my promise. And then regretted ever opening my mouth.

Wordlessly, I climbed over the tiny hill and drug the blanket beside me. None of my hands were free to pick out the sand that clung to every part of my body. I could only shake my head rapidly while a spray fluttered from my hair. I was getting madder now that he didn't even bother to help me with this thing, but instead stood there smiling like a lunatic.

_Mustn't damage the male ego. _

I got closer to him and saw that the object of his affection was... a small crater in the ground. At this point he noticed my efforts, but didn't make a move to help me. I dropped the thing to the ground in weariness. I brushed off my sleeves and stood beside Sanosuke, trying to figure out what it was he was so proud of. The same time, I was seething.

"It's... it's a hole."

"Nope," he grinned. "It's our _home_."

_What?! _

"You... you... you made me get sand all over me for _this_?!"

"Hey, you promised you wouldn't get mad!"

I rubbed my temple with my sleeve. The lining was made of silk, and incredibly cool to the touch. "You... you did that Futae thingy again, didn't you? Didn't you!"

Sanosuke nodded happily. "Yep. Time for promise number two."

I blinked. Takani Megumi: idiot extraordinaire. Was I missing something here? 'It's a hole in the ground!' I wanted to scream. And now the idiot was asking for another promise? "What is it?" I ground my teeth to powder while outwardly remaining as calm as I could.

Looking a little bit fearful now, he held up his right hand. The bandaging was in tatters. "Fix me?"


	2. Two

And it goes. Might as well leave reviews for silly fics like these, I don't get this way often.

*********

**Sand, Sun, and A Fur Blanket**_  
_By: Karina Kineshi (coronaflare@mail.com)

"Megumi, are you sure you want to do this?"

I nodded.

"On... our first date?" he gulped.

"Our _second_ date," I corrected.

He stammered. "What if we regret this? We've got to think of the conse—"

"Do it to me! I'm hot!"

He paused, and then put his hands on my back and started untying that _obi_ that Genzai-sensei had spent about 15 minutes on. It unnerved me that he knew exactly how to untie it. I asked myself how many obis before this he had untied before. The dim light in the hole flickered when a gust of wind ruffled the blanket.

I growled.

Right now, we were in our "home", a hole in the ground. I'd heard that expression used before, but this was completely ridiculous. And even worse, I was actually starting to like it. Once we crawled into the hole, together, Sanosuke threw the blanket over the opening and blotted out the sun. The fur was big enough to do that. At its deepest, there was enough room for me to stand, but Sanosuke had to duck a little. It was also wide enough to lie down in, but I wondered how the sand didn't cave in on us.

"It's because of my punch," he explained while working behind me. "I think that when I hit the sand, some of it got blasted into the side, making the wall..." I must have asked that out loud. He was working a little more steadily now, not with the jerky movements as before. Sometimes his hand would slip from the fabric and graze against my back, and I found myself wishing that would happen a little more often.

"Why do you know so much about deserts, anyways?"

Sanosuke stopped. "Why do you know so little?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.

"I thought you knew everything. That's all." 

A breath of air escaped my lungs when he fluidly pulled the _obi_ and most of its parts free. It surprised me to this day that foreigners thought that the _obi_ was just one strip of cloth. With the constrictive garment free, I tried to maintain a little bit of dignity and wrapped the _obi_ cord tightly around myself. Since the sash was gone, the "handkerchief", as foreigners call it, was hanging over the edge of the cord.

"I'm done."

I sighed. It felt great to be free of that ghastly thing; I could breathe without problem. It would have to double as a bandage for now. Now, it wasn't the actual sash itself, just one of the many layers of the _obi_. I was glad I wore it. With a pin from my hair in my teeth and that small _obi_ strip in my hand, I turned around, scooting over the sand with my ankles.

_Now let's... _

The blood rushed to my cheeks. Sanosuke was already lying down on the slight incline. His eyes were closed and his hands were behind his head. Was he sleeping? That wasn't what made me blush though. He had taken his red jacket off his arms but kept it under him as a barrier from the sand and his back. Even though it was cool in the ground, his whole chest glimmered with sweat. This man had shadows in _all_ the right places, speaking from a purely medical point of view...

_Megumi! _

"Are you just going to sit there and stare at me all day?" One eye opened and regarded me with a cool gaze, set in a perpetual wink. "Not that I'm complaining, of course."

"Of course not!" When I said that, the pin in my mouth fell and landed on my kimono. I could still see him grinning, the jerk. Embarrassed, I grabbed his wrist and tied the makeshift bandage around it, pointedly ignoring his cries of pain. "That should teach you," I muttered.

"Can't you be a little more careful?"

"Can't you be a little less egotistical?"

"I'm not egotistical," he insisted. Sanosuke pulled himself to an upright position while I was wrapping. "It's not my fault I look good."

Narcissism, anyone?

He did have a point. I'm going to kick myself later for letting myself get carried away like that. I decided to change the topic. "Well, I don't want someone who _looks_ good now, I want someone who _is_ good."

"I can be that too." This was said with an evil glint that even I could see in the semi-darkness.

"I'm not joking around... we need to figure out what we're going to do from here." I finished wrapping and pinned it neatly in place. I saw that it wasn't going to hold, but instead of warning him to be careful, I took another pin and put it crosswise. "We've got to have a plan."

Sanosuke leaned back and inspected my handiwork. I almost apologized for the disarray of the bandages, but then I remembered our situation. "Nice job fox. I'll try to be careful with it."

I shrugged and moved closer to the wall of sand. I quickly found out it was cooler when you sat next to it. "It's not like I'll wear that thing again."

There was an awkward silence, but I couldn't understand why. Not being in the heat made me regain my ability to think clearly, but not by much. I placed the blame on the fact that we probably wanted to conserve energy, and talking unnecessarily would waste what little we had. Maybe... there was just nothing to say following that.

He cleared his throat. "We can move during the late afternoon. It's too hot now. Just rest for now. I've got it all worked out."

As apprehensive I would have been about believing that statement, I felt oddly comforted. My mind pointed out all the things that he had done to prove that he was a man of his word. Relaxed now, I fell asleep.

*****

I was having the most horrid nightmare about...

Wait a minute, I'm awake.

The next thing I knew, the sun exploded and dry air cascaded over my wall. I opened my eyes so quickly I was afraid I'd get sand in them. This wasn't a dream? I felt the ground under me. Nope, not a futon. Sand.

"Sanosuke... what's the big idea?"

In the fading light, I could see a shadow towering over me from behind. "I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't. It's time to move." He spread the blanket out over the sand and told me to hurry. "We only have a few hours until it gets _really_ cold." I groggily scrambled to my feet and shook the sand out of my hair. Then he stopped and asked me, "Do you like fur or leather better?

"Leather," I answered without hesitation. I was surprised that I didn't think the question was silly. Maybe I had started to take Sanosuke's peculiar behaviors in stride. "Why?" The inside of my mouth felt like sandpaper.

"You're going to lie down here and I'll carry you."

"You mean... like a baby?" I was shocked now.

"Yeah, on my back. It's only rational."

I slipped my sandals on my feet and shook my fist. "I can walk by myself. I don't need to be hauled! And when did you care about being rational?"

"You said yourself that your feet hurt!"

"When?" I demanded. I didn't remember saying anything of the sort. True, they did hurt, but I wasn't about to let him on. It's an unspoken law that doctors don't feel pain. Just like we aren't supposed to get sick or show queasiness. Truthfully, I was feeling all three.

Sanosuke pointed at the blanket. "You walk like you're hurting. Plus, you said it in your sleep!"

"I most certainly..." I stopped. "Why were you listening to me when I was sleeping?" 

"There isn't anything else to listen to when you're stuck in a hole with one other person!" he snapped back. "We don't have time to argue. Either you stick to your promise and get on this blanket _now_, or I'm coming over there and _forcing_ you on here."

The authoritative tone of voice startled me. I think it also startled him, because as soon as he said it, a smile slinked over his face. I was also amused and had to shake my head to keep from laughing. I walked over next to him and tried to keep a straight face. "Fine. Only because I promised."

"Good. Now jump on my back."

"What?!"

He pulled the blanket so it was in both hands behind his back. It looked like a cape. "I said, jump on my back. It's less strain on both of us this way."

Cursing the heavens for my misfortune, I slid on and straddled his waist. I had to hike the kimono up a bit to get my legs around there. I never felt so embarrassed in my life. I was about to say something when he pulled his arms up and threw the corners of the blanket over his shoulders. I was hanging in midair until he caught it and the underside of the blanket rested snugly underneath me.

_Wow. _

Sanosuke finished by tying the corners in a knot right in front of his abdomen. I still clung around his neck like a child until he said that it was okay to let go just a little bit. I obeyed, then found the blanket was just like a seat. Might I say, it was very comfortable because I had support for my back as well. It still did nothing to ease the fact that my legs...

"Don't even _think_ those thoughts," I ordered.

I heard a laugh, and his back shook a little. "I wouldn't _dream_ of it."

Fact is, I didn't really care all that much. There was no one in sight for miles around, I couldn't be seen. I didn't have to wear those shoes anymore, and my elevated perch made me the same height as Sanosuke. I could see things a bit better than when I was on the ground. An added bonus was that I could hit him more easily if the situation called for it.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

He glanced around, and the back of his bandana tickled me in the face. The sun was already touching the horizon; it wouldn't be long until the infamous desert cold settled in. "Well, as far as we can go before the sun gets hot again." He started to walk. I must have ignored the comment because once it sunk in, it hit me like a sand wall.

_Is he talking about the next day?! _

"No way." I refused to think about that. "What about the cold?"

"You're perfectly fine in that blanket."

"I wasn't thinking about me, I was talking about you."

Sanosuke shrugged. "As long as I keep moving, I should be fine, right? And you're pretty warm yourself, so don't worry about me."

I felt myself getting red. Maybe that was another reason why he's carrying me: he needed my body warmth. Smart, I had to admit. I had to give him credit for coming up with the idea. "Seems that there's more in that head than squashed flies."

"Heh. Thanks for the compliment."

Since when did Sanosuke act so in command? This was an incredibly wild experience, but I didn't think that he was capable of... well, being this way. Of being "rational". The ache in my stomach grew stronger.

"Hey," I wrapped my arms around his neck tighter, "Do you think we're going to die out here?"

Sano paused, before mumbling, "Don't talk crazy talk, fox."

"I mean it though." 

Not that the thought of dying scared me...

Okay, I lied: Dying scared the shit out of me, if you could pardon my temporary unladylike ineloquence. How many nights have I patched up others, saved them from the brink?

_ But who would save me? _

I chuckled against the back of his neck. Sanosuke's hair fluttered, and I could feel sand fall into my own hair. Didn't bother to brush it out. "Promise me we won't die out here, Sano."

He didn't say anything.

"Promise me, you silly rooster." My muscles shuddered in a vain effort to keep warm.

_ Comfort me, say something, anything to give me hope. _

"Fox, "he started. "I'm not going to let you die out here. You're going to make it through this, even if it's the last thing I do."

"I certainly hope that me on your back won't be the last thing you do."

"I'd rather have you on my front."

It must have been the lack of water that made me giggle at the lewd innuendo.

Sanosuke continued. I could feel his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "But seriously. I don't want your hands to be the last thing I see when I die."

"As if you have more attractive hands," I shot back.

He shook his head. "I didn't mean it in a mean way, Megumi." He stopped walking, and I now noticed how the once scorching colors of the desert were bathed in cool moonlight. When did night fall so quickly? "I meant, I'd rather see your face. So I'd have something to compare the angels to."

No words came to respond to the heartfelt compliment.

In fact, dizzy from blood and cold, I passed out.

*****

The next time I awoke, I found myself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Very unfamiliar.

Then I realized with a jolt that the desert had no ceiling.

White alabaster vaulted above me, complete with frescoes of snakes and flowers. Using my peripheral vision, I saw great marble pillars connected to each other with finely woven silks, all colors of the rainbow. This room was huge. I certainly couldn't be in a desert anymore; it was far too cool, temperature wise.

Tentatively, I sniffed the air. Vetyver. My eyes opened wider. Vetyver was an Asian herb used in aromatherapy.

Vetyver doesn't grow in deserts.

I let an expletive loose. Sanosuke would be proud of me.

But, where is he?

Feeling slightly groggy, I raised my head from whatever it rested on. I found it to be a cylindrical pillow with gold cords around the ends. The type of throw pillow one would have on a harem chair.

_ A harem chair? _

Then I saw Sanosuke... lying down in between my legs. 

He was face down, kissing my bare stomach. His hands caressed my waist and ran up my sides from my breasts to my knees. Sagara Sanosuke was naked.

All I could manage was a stutter, because my throat was so dry.

In response to my strangled noises, his head snapped up, eyes wide and panicked. "M-M-Meg... Megumi, wait! Wait! There's a perfectly _rational_ explanation for all this!"

Found my voice.

I screamed. 


End file.
